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Tone Monster SBK preamps? Anybody here use them?

#41
I've used the active 3 band for a couple years in a MTD Saratoga (jazz style) 4 string. I run it at 18v,and love it. Not a minutes trouble, easy install and great pricing. I would buy another one in a heartbeat.
 
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#42
just plugged this bass with the new tone monster preamp to make its first appearance as main bass on two presentations today... and i keep loving it. this preamp is so clear, it sounds surprisingly GOOD with my jazz pickups... i can get pretty much any sound i want. and still cant get over the fact that it was under $50!!!! :-D
 
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#43
Turns out that this preamp doesn't just drop in to a Thunderbird. Tbirds have relatively thin tops, so there's not a lot of wood to shave to make the circuit boards fit. First problem was solved by removing the boards and jumping the connections with wire. Next problem is the battery, which is going to have to be kinda wedged in there, by turning one of the pots 180* the other way. I've got the local music shop working on it, but I know these guy's work; they have a lot of experience doing stuff like this. I have every confidence they'll make it fit. The guy who's been doing the work told me Friday before he had to leave what the status was, and that it's working and sounds gooooood. Now it's just a bit of Tetris to make it all fit.
 
#44
gabrielvv7 said:
just plugged this bass with the new tone monster preamp to make its first appearance as main bass on two presentations today... and i keep loving it. this preamp is so clear, it sounds surprisingly GOOD with my jazz pickups... i can get pretty much any sound i want. and still cant get over the fact that it was under $50!!!! :-D
Click to expand...
That's the business right there. Your excitement makes me excited.
 
#48
That install was all LJ at Music Central in Hopkinsville, KY. The circuit boards are too tall to fit in the cavity, so he had to remove them from the pots and then jump the connections with wire. Then it was about a half a day of Electronic Tetris to get everything to fit. :D Batteries can only go in one way; if the lid doesn't close I know it's not right!
 
#51
so, since i came to love them so much, i ordered another one of these (3 band with active/passive knob)... i know, shame on me... this time i'm thinking of dropping it into my ibanez sr375. what do you guys think? should i give it a go? or leave my bass as it is? i already do love my bass, but always wanted an active/passive function in it.
 
#52
gabrielvv7 said:
so, since i came to love them so much, i ordered another one of these (3 band with active/passive knob)... i know, shame on me... this time i'm thinking of dropping it into my ibanez sr375. what do you guys think? should i give it a go? or leave my bass as it is? i already do love my bass, but always wanted an active/passive function in it.
Click to expand...
I've never wanted to go back to passive ever. I had a warwick for 10 years and never used the active/passive switch (push-pull pot) even once.
 
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#53
well, i have two basses currently... one active (the ibanez), one passive. i just really like to use the passive sound on certain kinds of music (traditional stuff), and i like to have the flexibility of the active preamp for others (mostly rock and metal). plus i like the feeling of not being left on stage with a dead battery.
i guess a better question would be, if anyone has the experience, how do these pre's pair with humbuckers?
 
#55
Guitar Fuel's Tone Monster brand preamp is installed in Wolf basses.Made by KHL.Co..I bought my bass with the SEB v.2 preamp installed.My Wolf WTHB-7Whttp://Wolf,Woodo,HK and Ravenwest (KHL.Co.)Basses. | TalkBass.com
Wolf 7 string.JPG

So you want to know how a Tone Monster sounds?WOLF!Wolf,Woodo,HK and Ravenwest (KHL.Co.)Basses. | TalkBass.com
 
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#58
Awful tough to beat for the price! Guy I know put one in his gig bass (all I remember is that it was a Korean PJ clone; can't recall the headstock sticker but it was a nicely made, nice playing bass) when the Aguilar unit he'd just installed proved to be excessively noisy. He had a gig in about a week, so he gave the Tone Monster a try and loved the result. He's the one who turned me on to it.
 
#59
gabrielvv7 said:
well, i have two basses currently... one active (the ibanez), one passive. i just really like to use the passive sound on certain kinds of music (traditional stuff), and i like to have the flexibility of the active preamp for others (mostly rock and metal). plus i like the feeling of not being left on stage with a dead battery.
i guess a better question would be, if anyone has the experience, how do these pre's pair with humbuckers?
Click to expand...

If you want to hear what the 2 band sounds like with humbuker just look back a page or so for my post. The sound sample is the 2 band with a GFS MM style pup and together sound amazing! That is another secret everyone needs to know and try, GFS pickups are killer and the price is like the tone monster (worth every penny).
 
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#60
I've built a number of Franken-basses with SBK pre-amps, and they are great - very quiet, with a wide range on the tone controls. The price may not have much snob appeal, but they are great circuits, and actually easier to install than all but the simplest build-your-own passive circuit. I've fooled around with a number of other low-priced active controls, and the SBKs are MUCH better than any of them. Highly recommended.

Oddly, I put one in a guitar, and found it was wasted and took it back out and put it in a bass. The guitar just didn't seem to benefit from active circuitry like a bass does.
 
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